Top Anime Dream Daddies

Just like every other person in the world, I recently finished playing Dream Daddy and it got me thinking about dads in general. I’ve mentioned before that I have a soft spot for father characters in anime, especially good dads, and since I don’t have the patience to wait until June 17, 2018 (that’s father’s day here), I’m going to celebrate my favorite anime dads right now!

In some but not too much order:

8. Jorge “Animal” – Ace of Diamond

a.k.a. Chris’s dad in Ace of Diamond. Sports All anime is rather well known for the general absence of parental figures. Teenagers go about their daily lives with little to no interference for often completely invisible parents, if they don’t just live on their own for some reason. Ace of Diamond is no different, having most of the teenage cast live in dorms rather than at home means there is little need for parents to ever be seen and since the show concentrates on the team it makes sense that individual parents would not play a big role but at least we get to see “Animal” from time to time. He shows up at his son’s games to cheer him on. He worries about his wellbeing. e makes sure to be there for his son’s rehab sessions. Even when his views clash with Chris’, it’s clear that he only wants the best for him. It was also particularly sweet to see the normally calm and collected Chris lose his cool trying to impress his dad.

7. Vincent Phantomhive – Black Butler

Leaning heavily on the dream part of dream daddy, Vincent is certainly an attractive addition to the list. We do get the impression that Vincent had his share of questionable traits. Had he survived long enough, his influence on his son may not have been the healthiest but he did seem to care a lot for Ciel while he was still a young child. The few glimpses we get of the Phantomhives in better days reveal a happy family with a doting patriarch. His demise or maybe his ghost looms over Ciel to this day but even in death he manages to be more present than 99% of anime dads out there. Weird.

6. Kenjirou Tateyama – Mekakucity Actors

Alright, so he got possessed by an evil snake thingy and turned out to be the main villain of the show BUT before that he was a very good dad. He treated both his daughter and his adopted kids with great care and kindness. Always finding time to joke around and play with them and being careful to make everyone feel at home. In the end, his greatest and only sin was loving his wife too much. If this had been a better show, we would have surely been able to appreciate him a more.

5. Soichiro Yagami – Death Note

Well you can’t chose your kids… Soichiro certainly had it rough throughout the course of Death Note. But, despite everything he had to deal with, he still dragged himself exhausted and drained, to every family diner and put on a happy face. A consummate professional, he understood that his duties would require personal sacrifice but nevertheless he was uncompromising in putting the safety of his children first. Whether that was the “right” thing to do is questionable but at the end of the day, he chose to be a dad first and so her earns his spot. It’s worth something that while his own son may have betrayed him, he always respected him. It takes a lot to earn Light Yagami’s respect.

4. Fujitaka Kinomoto – Cardcaptor Sakura

It’s one thing to lose your wife at a young age and have to raise your children as a widower, it’s another to be completely isolated from, and even maligned by your in-laws because you have never been accepted as proper husband material. Nevertheless, Fujikata manages to be both mom, dad, uncle, aunt and grandparents to Sakura and her brother. And he does so while being consistently cheerful and supportive. Not shying away from letting Sakura know the complicated circumstances of his past with her mother and being careful not to blame anyone or let even the slightest hint of bitterness show. Few people have worked as hard to earn their spot on this list.

3. Spirit Albarn – Soul Eater

Spirit may be a horrible husband but he is a great dad. From the very first episode of Soul Eater, we get to know Spirit as the much maligned yet loving and protective (arguably over protective) dad that he is. Nothing and no one means as much to Spirit as Maka does. The man’s greatest happiness came from his daughter simply asking him to go shopping with her. Yeah, he did screw up a lot when she was younger but you can’t deny that his heart was always in the right place. As for the dreamy part, well that was always the problem, right?

2. Lu’s dad – Lu Over the Wall

Lu over the wall celebrates dads in general and features an entire cast of loving father-child relationships shown form every possible angle. But for me Lu’s dad takes the cake. He happens to be a gigantic shark man who has god-like ocean powers. He also happens to be a mute character without a single line of dialogue. Both of this facts are somehow impossibly combined to create an infinitely gentle father, singularly devoted to his daughter’s health and happiness. If I had to have a giant shark as a second dad, I would definitely pick him.

1. Shiro Fujimoto – Ao no Exorcist

Shiro didn’t have to take Rin and Yukio in. In fact, he technically shouldn’t have. But there comes a time when you have to figure out whether you’re the type of person that can turn your back of two innocent babies or you’re not. Shiro gave up more than anyone could ever imagine by taking in two lost kids and no one would ever guess either. He has never been bitter or unhappy with his choice, it probably never even occurred to him to regret it because form the second he made up his mind, he became a dad. Shiro has always done what he believed was the right thing to do and thanks to his impressive reserves of devotion and love, he managed to subvert nature itself.

 

Dishonorable mentions

Ging Freecss – Hunter x Hunter

This guy is such a…I don’t know the polite word for it. I have always appreciated Gon’s adamant insistence that Mito is his mom, but he should have realized that she’s also his dad. A guy who leaves his kid behind because it’s inconvenient then fails to scrape together to courage to face him until he absolutely doesn’t have the choice, doesn’t deserve the title.

Gendo Ikari – Neon Genesis Evangelion

I…I just don’t, I mean c’mon…. Shinji is a walking talking emotional wreck constantly minutes away from a complete meltdown and I still think he’s done pretty well for himself all things considered. If you need me to explain why Gendo is not a good dad, please never ever have children.

• Every time you have the chance – share a drink with your dad!